Canada McDonald’s Serves Cleaning Fluid Instead of Latte

This is horrifying.

A McDonald's franchise in Alberta, Canada has apologized after one of its customer was reportedly served a latte that had cleaning fluid in it.

The incident occurred on Sunday, July 29 when customer Sarah Douglass had ordered a latte. According to The Star, Sarah had gone through the drive-through and noticed an unusual taste upon drinking her beverage order. The customer, who is 32 weeks pregnant, reportedly pulled over after drinking and then spitting out the liquid, CBCsaid. "I opened up the lid of the coffee and out pours this pungent smell of chemical," Sarah told CBC. "It wasn't a latte at all."

Sarah returned to McDonald's where she was offered an additional beverage by the supervisor on duty. She declined and was given the number of the franchise manager. According to Sarah, an employee then informed her that two "cleaning lines" had been connected to the latte machine when she had placed her order. After inspecting the bottle of cleaner used in the machine, she contacted poison control. Poison control told her that it was an "acid-based solution," CBC reported.

According to CBC, the McDonald's franchise owner Dan Brown addressed the incident in a statement, saying, "McDonald's is renowned for its food safety protocols and I am sorry that this happened in my restaurant here in Lethbridge. What happened is that the machine was being cleaned as it is every morning. Unfortunately, the milk supply line was connected to the cleaning solution while this guest's drink was made. We have taken immediate action to review the proper cleaning procedures with the team and have put additional signage up as an added reminder."

Following the incident Sarah visited her doctor. She has experienced no side-effects as she did not ingest the chemical, CBC noted.

In a statement from McDonald's to Teen Vogue, the company referred to a statement from the franchise owner. “Since learning about the complaint, our team has been in very close contact with the guest and apologized to her," Dan said. "The health inspector also visited my restaurant and is not investigating further. McDonald’s is renowned for its food safety protocols and I am sorry that this happened in my restaurant here in Lethbridge. What happened is that the machine was being cleaned – as it is every morning. Unfortunately, the milk supply line was connected to the cleaning solution while this guest’s drink was made. We have taken immediate action to review the proper cleaning procedures with the team and have put additional signage up as an added reminder.”